A North Carolina Collection

A North Carolina Collection

Article excerpt

Fayetteville State chancellor outlines a vision for diversity, and the University of North Carolina Press presents volumes on Black gays in the South and the post-Emancipation era.

In keeping with the focus on higher education in North Carolina for this issue, Diverse Bookshelf looks at new academic books with a connection to the state, one from a Fayetteville State University administrator and two from the University of North Carolina Press.

It is not enough for institutions of higher education to espouse or even achieve diversity if they do not figure out how that sometimesamorphous goal fits into the mission to teach and if they do not document their success at it, warns Dr. James A Anderson in this book.

Anderson became chancellor of Fayetteville State University earlier this, year, returning to the state where he had spent 11 years as a vice provost at North Car- olina State University. His recent work has been in institutional as- sessment and diversity, lending authority to his message that diversity by the numbers should not become the end but rather the means for teaching all students to navigate in a multicultural society and prosper in a global marketplace.

"How do we know that the learning and social environment of a campus prepares its students to challenge stereotypes, or become good citizens in a pluralistic society, or develop the necessary skills and competencies to work effectively with colleagues from diverse backgrounds?" Anderson asks.

If institutions cannot answer that, he notes, "diversity detractors and nonsupporters can capitalize on environments that are rife with vague definitions and messages."

"Even the most committed leaders can unknowingly create the conditions that limit the progress and implementation of diversity goals," Anderson continues.

As "laboratories of preparation for the 21st Century," he argues, colleges and universities must find better ways to evaluate and document what students learn as a result of diversity. Along with solid insights and vision, he suggests some tools for incorporating inclusiveness into the fabric and the curriculum of institutions of higher education.